How To Clean Your Solder Iron Tip

This step will coat the iron in a mixture of flux and solder.

How to clean your solder iron tip. With the iron tip cold use a polishing bar. Push the soldering iron tip into the chemical cleaner until the entire rusted area is submerged. You can remove oxides easier by wiping the soldering iron tip in a wet sponge.

Then dip the tip in the cleaner and do a slight twist action. Clean the tip After every cycle and before you start to solder always clean your tip. A solder pot may also be used to tin or re-tin your soldering iron tip.

Leave for 4-5 Seconds and then Take out the Iron. To use the Tip tinnercleaner heat the soldering iron. When pre-cleaning is necessary for plated tips they should be cleaned with a mildly abrasive emery cloth and may require an acid flux to remove the oxides before tinning or re-tinning.

To clean your tips use either brass or stainless steel wool. Electronix Express points out that in order to remove the dirt and debris that accumulates on the tip of a soldering iron it is necessary to wipe it clean with a sponge. If some of the oxides are just sticking really well you could try to mildly abrade them on a brass sponge copper braid or similar but you cant be too hard or you will damage the iron plating good tips are typically copper core plated with iron then chromium everywhere but the.

Take either a wet sponge or wire wool. You also can clean your soldering iron tip with a sponge while using it to keep it clean. Leave it there until the paste melts around the tip.

This should lead to a clean shiny tip ready for use. You should not have to do more than periodically wipe the tip clean with a damp sponge then re-tin with fresh solder. Wipe the iron on a damp sponge to remove the excess.